Officials from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa gather in Johannesburg on Tuesday for a three-day BRICS summit, a five-nation club comprising 40% of the world’s population and more than 25 percent of global GDP that positions itself as an economic counterweight to the West. Almost 15 years on from the group’s founding, FRANCE 24 takes a look at the BRICS nations in numbers and their relative weight in the global economy.
The term “BRIC” first emerged in 2001 to refer to the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. It was coined by Jim O’Neill, a British economist at Goldman Sachs investment bank, and soon became popular with financial analysts and investors eager to tap into fast-growing markets.
